As Much Sky and Earth
by applemilk
Summary: Bella works for Edward, an infuriating man. She thinks his feelings for her are mutual, but could a little accident.. or a few accidents.. reveal more from both of them? AU Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

As Much Sky and Earth  
Written by: applemilk

Chapter 1

* * *

She stumbled into the store and landed unceremoniously face-forward onto the thin-carpeted floor. She also managed to knock down racks of little booklets and magazines along the way.

"Must you always make that entrance?" a smooth voice cut through the air of ruckus. The voice held a sense of authority as it dripped with sarcasm.

"Must you always _watch_ my entrance instead of helping me out?" the woman countered, pushing herself off the ground and smoothing out her clothes.

"Yes."

"Bastard."

"Boss, you mean."

"You're just a supervisor," she replied coolly as she walked behind the counter and carefully slipped on her apron. "And one who doesn't do his job properly at that!"

"Bella, I can't help the fact that you are coordinately unbalanced." The supervisor followed.

"Getting rid of that stupid rug in front of the door would help!"

He frowned,

"But it brings such lovely memories of you."

Bella fumed.

"I hate you."

The man merely shrugged and glanced back at the mess Bella had made earlier.

"I expect that to be cleaned and organized by the time I get back."

"Where are you going?" It was her turn to frown. He seemed a bit pleased at her reaction.

"Rosalie needs my assistance."

Bella rolled her eyes and muttered agitatedly.

"What was that?" her supervisor incquired. He leaned in and stared at her intently. Her cheeks ever-so-slightly turned pink before she took a deep breath and smiled sweetly,

"I bet she needs your assistance. Now if you excuse me, Edward," she left the counter as she spoke and headed for the mess, "I have actual work to do."

He smirked but left her without a word.

* * *

"How's it coming a long?" Edward casually asked as he strode towards the counter which Bella worked at. She rolled her eyes.

"How does it look?"

He scanned her counter, then the room itself, and realized that there were no customers.

"Are you driving away my customers?"

Now her eyes narrowed.

"_Why_, pray tell, would anyone want to drink coffee in the summer?"

"Why are you answering all of my questions with questions?" He countered.

"What did Rosalie need help with?" She ignored his last comment.

"You're doing it again."

"Just answer!"

"Why should I? You never really answered mine."

Bella breathed in deeply. Edward chuckled.

"She works in a completely different area so it doesn't really concern you."

"A much simpler area," Bella agreed," but what took you so long?"

He smirked again, but did not answer. She rolled her eyes and looked away.

A sick feeling stirred in Bella's stomach and she did not know why. She should have expected something to happen between the two. Beautiful people always get together, right?

Did she just think Edward was beautiful?

Why did she even care he was with Rosalie?

Working with caffeine really got to her.

"Well, well, well. What are the odds? Here comes a few people who actually like to drink coffee in the summer. Put on a happy face." He left her once again and she almost did not put on her best faux smile yet for her upcoming customers.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

In the afternoon her scream could be heard throughout the whole building.

"What? What is it? What did you do?" she could hear Edward's breathless voice. He ran to see what the problem was, but she refused to acknowledge him. Even when he demanded her to tell him the problem, she would not.

Her back was facing him and he could tell she was struggling with something. The faucet was running quite loudly but not much water was being used by her. She _was_ using it for something, however. As he walked behind the counter, he thought she most likely spilt coffee on herself.

"Honestly, why you were hired is beyond me—" Edward's foot faltered when he caught sight of what she was actually doing. There was a huge gash stretching from in-between the crevice of Bella's ring finger and pinky diagonally down to the side of her wrist. Blood was filling up quickly but she tried her best to keep her hand steady so the blood would not spill. She was breathing heavily, willing herself not to let her tears fall, as she tried to clean her hand.

"Oh Bella," Edward murmured. His eyebrows furrowed in concern and his mouth was slightly open. "How did this happen? Here, let me do it." One hand was already reaching out for her before she abruptly turned. Her words came out with much difficulty as she tried to ignore the pain,

"I can do this myself."

"Don't be silly. You need help."

"I don't want your help."

"Now you're just being stubborn."

"It's just a cut! I can handle it." But his hands were already on her shoulders, steering her back to the sink. "What do you think you're doing?!" she nearly cried.

"My job," his voice was soft but firm. The sincerity in his voice refrained her from making a smart comeback.

He released his hold on her shoulders and she felt a sense of loss momentarily until he got a clean cloth and started running cold water from the faucet. Careful to not cause her any more pain than she was already in, he gradually cleaned up as much blood as he could.

"This is a deep cut, Bella. I may have to ask Carlisle to stitch it for you." Her eyes widened and she immediately pulled her hand away from his hold, cradling it protectively. "It's just a few stitches," Edward peered at her. He took back her hand and wrapped a fresh dry cloth around the cut. She whimpered softly when he tightened the cloth, but he paid no heed.

"We should go immediately," he already started to pull her with her good hand. She stood her ground though. "What is it now?"

"I, eh… well, we can't just leave the store. I mean… who will look after the café? And… and… oh! You don't want to keep Rosalie waiting."

"I'll make a few calls when we get there," he tried pulling her but she was persistent,

"No, no, this cut is really not that deep. I'll be fine. See…?" she was leaning toward the coffee machinery.

"No!" He abruptly tugged at her hand. "I don't want you further worsening the cut nor getting blood in the customer's coffee." She grimaced. "I'm calling Carlisle right now. Come with me."

"But Rosalie…"

"This isn't about Rosalie, godammit, this is about you! You're hurt and you are acting completely childish. Get over your fear of needles and come with me."

"How did you kn—" his smoldering eyes silenced her, however, and she quietly obeyed him. He helped her get past the loathed rug and, on the way to his car, he quickly dialed Carlisle then the store itself. By the time he was through talking to everyone, they were pulling out of the parkway.

"So," Edward began once he hung up his cell phone and sped down the streets. "Explain."

Bella stared directly in front of her, not trusting her own voice.

"Well," she started when she knew Edward was getting impatient, "everyone kept ordering iced coffee so when the last customer left, I thought I'd better clean up the equipment. And I did, until I got to the blade of the blender…it was jammed so I was careful when prying it out… but somehow along the way it slipped and this," she raised her wounded hand, "was me catching it."

"I don't recall seeing a bloodied blade," his eyebrows furrowed. He glanced at her and saw that she had ducked her head in shame.

"Kicked it under the sink," she explained, "and I tried to clean this up before you came… but we know how that ended."

"You were honestly going to handle the situation yourself?"

He sounded condescending to her. She tried to keep her cool.

"Of course."

"So if you couldn't fix it, you'd just let it bleed and continue carrying on your work?"

He made everything she did sound so horrible!

"Well, I'd eventually get it properly fixed, but I would keep working."

"And you wouldn't care if the wound gets infected or if you possibly made the other customers sick with an open wound? Are you out of your mind?"

The anger building in Bella was so fierce that she had difficulty even speaking. She would have yelled at him to stop the car, but that would only prove his point. And there was no sense in arguing because she did make the decision to fix her own problem. Was it that bad of a decision? He was always telling her to figure things out herself. The one time she takes full-on responsibility, she gets scolded upon! She decided to sit in the car, without saying a word, and let Edward continue to patronize her--

"Sorry."

"What?" Her voice cracked. She did not realize she was silently crying. Edward sighed irritably.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my place to say that."

"You're the boss," she responded quietly, "and you've proven your point. I should've re-thought my actions."

Silence.

"I was just so caught up in the moment," she continued, "I kept worrying about what I should do, what would the people think if they saw, and mostly I worried about disappointing you. I mean I've done it enough already. I don't need to add to the list of why I should be fired. I'm usually not even this accident prone."

"You don't disappoint me." He said after a long while.

She looked at him with curiosity, and a bit shock.

"Granted, you are a klutz," he smirked, "but you also put more effort in your job than most of the workers."

"I only put more effort to show you up."

"And you've succeeded."

She smiled.

"Now let's check up on that hand."


	2. Chapter 2

As Much Sky and Earth  
Written by: applemilk  
Chapter 2

* * *

Getting stitches was a horrible experience for Bella. Edward allowed her to clutch his hand, but he also gleefully commented on her hemophobia during the process. Dr. Carlisle Cullen, a regular customer where they worked, never reprimanded Edward, but simply requested he would stop teasing her. In the end, Bella gratefully thanked Carlisle for both healing her wound and making Edward shut up.

Her spirits were high when she made it back to her place. She could not deny it was because of the fact Edward had been so kind to her that afternoon, an act he rarely was around her.

Bella showed up at work the next morning, managing to miss the wretched rug that brought her much misfortune, only to find a stranger behind the café counter. The stranger's back was to her, setting up appliances before the bookstore opened. From what she could tell, it was a man around her age. He had shiny black hair that tied into a small ponytail, and he was tall. Everyone was taller compared to Bella, however.

"Hello," she greeted him casually as she stepped behind the counter. The man turned his head towards her and smiled easily. Now that Bella could see his face, she found him an attractive young man. His cheekbones were prominent, and he had a strong jaw. He was fairly tan, with the sharp eyes of a hunter, and a nice set of pearly white teeth.

"Hey, you must be Bella. I'm Jacob." His voice was deep.

"Jacob?" He nodded. "Are you a new worker?" He smiled even more.

"Well I used to work at the one down by Vineville, but was transferred here last minute."

Bella was about to speak, when Edward barged through the café door with his eyes glued on a clipboard he was holding. He walked quickly as he spoke his orders,

"Jacob, make sure you restock the desserts. Bella, check the fr—"

Edward halted his steps and jerked his head towards the café counter, looking directly at Bella.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Bella noticed his eyes widened slightly at his tone, but he made no attempt to apologize for the way he addressed her.

"…I'm scheduled to work every day this summer. Jerk." She responded back in kind. It seemed she was too happy that night to realize he would be Edward, the asshole, the next day.

Edward smirked and held his clipboard over his chest, now fully turned towards the counter.

"Have you already forgotten?"

She stared at him blankly.

He raised his free hand, then showed off his spirit fingers.

Bella looked down at her own hand, which had a wrap on it to hide her view of the stitches. The wrap also prevented her from bending her hand properly, which she couldn't do anyway unless she wanted to open her cut once more.

"And your point?" she replied regardless. She could hear Jacob chuckle in the background. Bella smiled slightly back at Jacob, whose eyes were watching in interest. Edward's expression slightly faltered, but he kept his smirk

"Why don't you step into my office." Without waiting for a response, he walked off, leaving Bella to roll her eyes at him.

"It was nice meeting you," she said to Jacob, who nodded in return, still smiling. Then she stalked off to follow Edward.

* * *

It turned out Edward's office was code for the storage room for unpacked books, magazines and other bookstore merchandise. It was a big room, but all the cardboard boxes made a very cramped space for the two.

"Honestly Bella," he shut the door behind them and Bella felt even more claustrophobic. "Did you really forget what I told you yesterday or are you just being stubborn?"

Bella thought back to the other day, to the time before she had reassured Edward she could drive home with one hand. _"Don't worry about showing up for work for the next few days. Until you can take the stitches off, just relax at home," _he had told her.

Bella thought about what he said her whole drive home. And even before she went to bed. Part of her was extremely gratified to know she didn't have to show up for work, but she also wanted to go to work the next day. She convinced herself that it was for the money, and for having nothing else better to do. She also convinced herself that it was _not_ because she wanted to see Edward again.

"Hello?" Edward snapped his fingers in front of her and she fluttered her eyes, breaking free of her memories.

Then she shrieked, jumped, and simultaneously bumped the back of her head on a box behind her. The box almost toppled over if it wasn't for Edward's immediate reaction to steady it.

His arms were at either side of Bella's head, holding the box behind her, and Bella could feel his warm breath on her face. If Bella was feeling claustrophobic before, she was feeling--

"Christ, what was that for?" Edward exclaimed at her as he removed his arms and took a step back. Bella breathed deeply as she rubbed the pain on her head with her uninjured hand.

"You scared me," she accused.

"How so?" he asked incredulously.

"You were _this_ close to me," she put her injured hand in front of her face to emphasize _this_. "Please don't ever do that again."

Edward then laughed richly. Bella felt his voice rumble through her own body. In spite of her, he got up close to her face once more and said in a slow voice,

"Is this too close for you?" Bella's breath hitched in her throat. His eyes, which she noticed for the first time, were a brilliant shade of green.

"Qu-quite," she managed to gasp out, cursing herself inwardly for sounding so weak. Her heart was jerking wildly, as if trying to get out of her rib cage, which did not help the situation.

Edward's eyes flickered to her mouth, before returning her gaze once more. His eyes were twinkling, and it was quite intimidating. She saw his arm lift and rest again the cardboard box beside her head.

He tilted his head to one side and leaned ridiculously closer, so that his lips almost met hers. She felt utterly trapped, her eyes involuntarily closing as he spoke softly,

"How about this—"

The storage door suddenly opened soundly. Bella's eyes snapped open first, though she couldn't see the intruder as Edward's head blocked her view, and quickly pushed him out of the way with both her hands. Then she cursed loudly, as her injured hand throbbed from the push.

"Edward? _Bella?_" a shocked, and very feminime, voice asked.

Rosalie stood there, with a box next to her feet, in all her blonde glory. She stared at the two; Bella's flushed expression and Edward's hazy eyes, and put the clues together in her head.

"Ugh!" She made a noise of frustration and stomped off. Edward ran a hand through his bronze hair, which Bella noticed looked very soft to touch, and sighed.

"Stay here, I need a... word.. with Rosalie and then we'll finish this," he commanded Bella, surveying her with his emerald eyes. Bella gulped, not knowing what _finish this_ really meant, and stayed glued to her spot. She secretly enjoyed the jealous expression on Rosalie's face, but thinking back to what Rosalie thought she saw, her cheeks burned.

* * *

Edward had been gone for nearly ten minutes before he came back with an irritated expression. Bella's cheeks were still a light pink. Edward nearly kissed her ten minutes ago!

"Alright," he closed the door once more and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why are you here?"

"I--what? You told me to stay here." She responded dumbfoundedly. He rolled his eyes.

"I told you last night that until your hand has recovered, you are not to come to work."

"Oh." Recognition flew to her eyes. "I know," she said quietly.

"Then why are you here?" He responded, just as quiet. His eyes were surveying her carefully.

"I—um, I…really need the money, and…" His expression softened.

"Of course. Well I suppose I can't send you off since you're already here and the store opens in five minutes." He continued to vocalize his thoughts until he asked, "Why don't you just work the cash register in the café while Jacob handles everything else?"

"I can do more than that," she started to object.

"Right," he stated offhandedly, "but for today we will see how you work with one hand before we make you do more than you can handle."

"Who's we?" her conscious coming clearer to her now that the tense mood dissipated.

"Me, myself, and I."

She groaned and pushed past him on her way out of the storage room.

He smiled arrogantly and followed.

"How are you even my supervisor? You're the same age as me!" she exclaimed as she made a beeline towards the café. She dismissed the incident between her and Edward 'almost kissing' as Edward simply teasing her, like always. Truthfully she knew that Edward would not be attracted to a girl like her. That whole situation back there was just weird and Bella decided to pretend it never happened.

"It's called family business."

"Excuse me?" she paused next to a bookshelf, not quite catching that. Edward stopped before her, and explained.

"My mother owns this store and it's outlets. Her parents owned this business before, and the generation before that. I was practically raised in here, and technically the store is in my inheritance, if I wish to pursue the family business."

"And will you?"

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"I've thought about it, since it has money guarantee, but I do have my own dreams, you know."

"Like what? What does Edward Mason want to do in life?"

"Get out of this town, first." Bella smiled genuinely. "And I dunno, do something more meaningful."

She scoffed.

"Meaningful? Is that possible for you?"

He smirked.

"And what about you, Miss Isabella Swann? What are your plans for the future?"

Time stilled for her. It was a question she often asked herself. Not willing herself to give an empty answer, she said with mirth in her eyes,

"First, I'd like get out of this town." She recalled his words. "Then…I dunno…do something meaningful." Edward outright laughed and Bella smirked triumphantly.

"Well, good luck with that," he said with a smile. Bella began to feel that happy buzz she felt the night before. He had a dazzling smile, really. "Now get to work."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Every review told me to continue in the first chapter, so now that I have a plotline for this story, I am going to continue! Please give me your feedback. Apologies for any grammatical/mechanical errors. I really need to find a beta reader.

Just for clarification: THERE ARE NO VAMPIRES OR WEREWOLVES IN THIS STORY. All characters are human, and I'm trying to keep them as IC as possible (which _is_ possible). Hopefully you all can see that :)


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